3. Characteristics of Advanced Civilizations
• High populations within societies
• Advanced food storage and domestication of a variety of food
• Complex institutions, such as organized religion and
government
• Written language
• Specialization of jobs
5. Characteristics of the Mayan Empire
• Highly organized religious and government systems
• Religious rituals demanded involvement by all social classes
• Mayan society was divided by class and status, living in kin-based groups with a
hereditary chief
• Rulers were recognized as god-kings
6. • Hieroglyphs were their form of
writing
• Mayans used two calendars, one
was based on a 365-day year; the
other was used for religious
purposes
• Applied complex mathematical
systems including the concept of
zero
• Highly developed astronomical
concepts
9. Characteristics of the Incan Empire
• “the land of four quarters”
• No written language, but
pictographs, and quipus
• Engineering
accomplishments included
suspension bridges and
roads that connected the
empire.
• All property belonged to
the state. Central planning
organized peasants into
work crews.
10.
11.
12. • Trade included textiles, gold,
silver and bronze, Peruvian
livestock and agriculture; used
coin money
• Terraced farms dotted the
mountainous landscape and
corn was grown at altitudes
over 13,000 ft.; steps provided
access to farms; guano used as
fertilizer
• Macchu Picchu
13. • Religious ceremonies were highly complex
and included human and animal sacrifices
• The supreme god of the Incas was the
creator god, Viracocha
• The royal family was believed to be
descended from the sun god, Inti
• Incas also practiced ancestry-worship and
mummification
19. Characteristics of the Aztec Empire
• The Triple Alliance (Mexica,
Texcoco and Tlacopan)
ruled from about 1428 until
1521 CE
• Tenochtitlán
• Chinampas
• City-states helped support
large populations, which
were highly organized
20.
21.
22. • Writing included pictographs but was
not as developed as the Mayan
• Mathematical concepts included a
counting system based on 20
• Accurate calendar
• Had the wheel, but only used for
children’s toys.
• Herbal remedies for specific ailments
• Tradition of poetry, music, and
drama.
23. • Belief systems supported
necessary human sacrifices to
appease the gods; these also
included child-sacrifices
24.
25.
26. • Class system was highly stratified; rulers were considered semi-divine
• Highly advanced trade system, extending into Guatemala, included lake salt, cacao
and textiles (no coin money)
• Today, 30% indigenous people in Mexico claim ancestry to the Aztec, 9% are purely
Spanish, 60% are mixed.
